SBA: Small Business Week to honor entrepreneurs

Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2001

Each year for the past 38 years, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of Small Business Week. This year, National Small Business Week, which is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, will be May 6-12. The local celebration of Small Business Week will be a series of four Small Business Luncheons starting on May 15 in Amarillo, May 16 Lubbock, May 17 Abilene, and the last luncheon in the first part of June for the Permian Basin area. The national celebration will honor the estimated 25.5 million small businesses in America that employ more than half the country's private work force and generate a majority of American innovations.

During Small Business Week, one outstanding entrepreneur from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam will be recognized in ceremonies in Washington, DC. The national Small Business Person of the Year as well as two runners up, are selected by the SBA administrator, based on recommendations from the national advisory council. The council considers length of time in business, growth in the number of employees, increases in sales and/or unit volume, improvement in financial condition, responses to adversity and contributions by the business owner to community-oriented projects.

Small business luncheons are our way to recognize those persons and organizations that are dedicated to the support of the small business community. We admire and acknowledge those individuals who have fulfilled a commitment to the advancement of women's business ownership, those who have advanced small business opportunities for U.S. armed forces veterans, those individuals who assist small businesses in obtaining financing, and others who have improved the understanding of the role of small business in the U.S. economy.

A small business advocate is an individual who has used his or her professional expertise and talents to further the understanding of small business. These individuals have also taken an active role in creating opportunities for small business.

The special awards category recognizes a top young entrepreneur, a small business exporter and a former "small'' business with SBA assistance. Individuals whose efforts and contributions enabled their businesses or communities to recover successfully from a disaster are also recognized.

During this time, we also take the opportunity to recognize those banks and resource partners who support and encourage small business in Texas, where 98.7 percent of all business is small. Business tax return figures show there could be almost 25.5 million businesses.

Small businesses have been the foundation of the longest sustained economic expansion in our nation's history, generating more than 51 percent of the gross domestic product. America's small businesses employ more than 52 percent of the private sector work force, and have been the principal source of the 21 million new jobs created since 1993. There is no sign of a slowdown in the entrepreneurial spirit, either, as one million new small business begin each year.

Help us celebrate America's entrepreneurial spirit during Small Business Week. We would like to encourage small business people in each of the four metropolitan areas to join us in luncheons across the Northwest Texas community honoring this year's award winners.